Gadgets

Lytro Debuts New File Format, Partners With 500px

Lytro's cameras first entered the spotlight because they enabled users to change the focus of images after they were already shot.

But one obstacle holding the light-field platform back — other than expensive hardware — is that the greater photography ecosystem isn't equipped to handle Lytro's "living pictures," which use a file type not widely supported on the web. But that's about to change.

The company is altering the way it stores images, which will now use a new open-file format that applies the WebGL standard for 3D graphics, according to Recode.

The first third-party platform that will take advantage of Lytro's new format is online-photography community 500px, whose users will be able to view, edit and share Lytro photos. Lytro's images will likely start appearing in other places around the web, too, as the company plans to make its new format available on GitHub, so anyone can take advantage of it.

Lytro's first cameras, which focused on light-field photography, became available in 2012. The company introduced its second-generation camera, the $1,599 Illum, earlier this year.

Lytro has focused on consumer photography up until now. Last year, the company's secured a $40 million round of funding to apply its technology to new categories.

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